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Spanish Filipino or Hispanic Filipino ( Spanish: Español Filipino, Hispano Filipino, Tagalog: Kastílang Pilipino, Cebuano: Katsílà) are people of Spanish and Filipino heritage. The term may also include Filipino mestizos of Spanish ancestry who identify with
Spanish culture The culture of Spain is influenced by its Western world, Western origin, its interaction with other cultures in Europe, its historically Catholic Church in Spain, Catholic religious tradition, and the varied national and regional identity in Sp ...
and may or may not speak the Spanish language. According to a present-day 2007-2024 international government
census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
data provided by different countries around the globe shows that there are around 672,319 people with mixed White Spanish and Indigenous Filipino ancestries living on different parts of the world, as well as 4,952 individuals who self-identified as ethnically Spanishin the Philippines. Forming a part of the
Spanish diaspora The Spanish diaspora consists of Spaniards, Spanish people and their Lineal descendant, descendants who emigrated from Spain. In the Americas, the term most often refers to residents with Spanish nationality; this is in contrast to "Hispanic" w ...
, the heritage of Spanish Filipinos may come recently from Spain, from descendants of the original Spanish settlers during the Spanish colonial period, or from Spain's colonies in
Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...
(such as
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
). Many of their communities in Spain, Mexico, the United States, Australia, Canada, Latin America and the Philippines trace their origin to the early settlers from
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
and
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...
during the Spanish colonial period and in recent overseas migration in the 1900s. In the Philippines depending on the specific provinces, in the late 1700s to early 1800s they formed as much as 19% in the capital city of Manila at formerly named Tondo province, and about 1.38% of the Ilocos region, 2.17% of Cebu or 16.72% of Bataan and other parts of the country. The Spanish population that settled in the Philippines during the colonial period were originally referred to as "Filipinos". Spaniards, Latin Americans and Spanish-speaking Filipinos are referred to by native Filipinos as "Kastila", a word for "Castilian" which means the region and language of Castile, or an individual of Spanish heritage. Native Filipinos in historical terms are referred to by the Spaniards as "Indio" (a word for "Indian" or
Indigenous people There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...
). Filipinos of Spanish backgrounds numbered at about 4,952 people, while Mestizo Filipinos of mixed native Filipino and European ancestry made up about 5% of the Philippines' population during the 1700s. The abrupt decline of Spanish Filipinos as a percentage of the population is due to the events of the
Philippine Revolution The Philippine Revolution ( or ; or ) was a war of independence waged by the revolutionary organization Katipunan against the Spanish Empire from 1896 to 1898. It was the culmination of the 333-year History of the Philippines (1565–1898), ...
during the Philippine Republic in the late 1800s, as Filipinos of Spanish heritage choose to identify themselves as pure native Filipino, as part of establishing a united national identity in the country, or some have relocated back to Spain, or have migrated to other countries during that period. During and after the Philippine Revolution, the term "Filipino" included people of all nationalities and race, born in the Philippines. Today, Hispanic Filipinos are found in all social classes worldwide, from upper wealthy to lower poor disadvantage backgrounds, and from high profiled individuals to ordinary unknown people. They have long integrated into the native communities living their lives as ordinary citizens. However most of the successful individuals are present in economics and business sectors in the Philippines and a few sources estimate companies which comprise a significant portion of the Philippine economy like International Container Terminal Services Inc., Manila Water, Integrated Micro-Electronics, Inc., Ayala Land, Ynchausti y Compañia,
Ayala Corporation Ayala Corporation (, formerly ''Ayala y Compañía''; ) is the publicly listed holding company for the diversified interests of the Ayala Group. Founded in the Philippines by Domingo Róxas and Antonio de Ayala during Spanish colonial rule, ...
, Aboitiz & Company, Union Bank of the Philippines, ANSCOR,
Bank of the Philippine Islands The Bank of the Philippine Islands ('';'' '','' commonly known as BPI; ) is a universal bank in the Philippines. It is the oldest bank in both the Philippines and Southeast Asia. It is the fourth largest bank in terms of assets, the second lar ...
, Globe Telecom, Solaire Resort & Casino, and Central Azucarera de La Carlota, to name but a few are owned by Hispanic Filipinos.


History

The history of the Spanish Philippines covers the period from 1521 to 1898, beginning with the arrival in 1521 of the Portuguese explorer
Ferdinand Magellan Ferdinand Magellan ( – 27 April 1521) was a Portuguese explorer best known for having planned and led the 1519–22 Spanish expedition to the East Indies. During this expedition, he also discovered the Strait of Magellan, allowing his fl ...
sailing for Spain, which heralded the period when the Philippines was an
overseas province Overseas province () was a designation used by Portugal for its overseas possessions, located outside Europe. History In the early the 19th century, Portuguese overseas territories were referred to as "overseas dominions", but administrative re ...
of Spain, and ends with the outbreak of the
Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...
in 1898. The Spanish discovery of the American continent by the
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
explorer
Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus (; between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed Voyages of Christopher Columbus, four Spanish-based voyages across the At ...
in 1492, an expedition sponsored by Queen Isabella I of Castille and King
Ferdinand II of Aragon Ferdinand II, also known as Ferdinand I, Ferdinand III, and Ferdinand V (10 March 1452 – 23 January 1516), called Ferdinand the Catholic, was King of Aragon from 1479 until his death in 1516. As the husband and co-ruler of Queen Isabella I of ...
, laid the foundation of settlements and explorations in the
New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...
. Spain became the first European country to permanently colonized the American continent in 1492. In 1541, Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos was commissioned by Antonio de Mendoza, the
viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...
of
New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...
and first colonial administrator in the New World, to send an expedition to the Philippines to establish a larger Spanish presence there as a base for trade with the
Spice Islands In the culinary arts, a spice is any seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance in a form primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of plants used for ...
and
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
and to extend Spanish control over the
Moluccas The Maluku Islands ( ; , ) or the Moluccas ( ; ) are an archipelago in the eastern part of Indonesia. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone. Geographically they are located in West Melanesi ...
in the Portuguese East Indies.. The expedition ultimately failed, with Villalobos dying in a Portuguese prison on
Ambon Island Ambon Island is part of the Maluku Islands of Indonesia. The island has an area of and is mountainous, well watered, and fertile. Ambon Island consists of two territories: the city of Ambon, Maluku, Ambon to the south, and three districts (''k ...
in 1546. In 1564, conquistadors led by
Miguel López de Legazpi Miguel López de Legazpi (12 June 1502 – 20 August 1572), also known as ''Adelantado, El Adelantado'' and ''El Viejo'' (The Elder), was a Spanish conquistador who financed and led an expedition to conquer the Philippines, Philippine islan ...
, prompted the colonization of the Philippine Islands that lasted for 333 years. The Philippines was a former territory of
New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...
until the grant of independence to
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
in 1821 necessitated the direct government from Spain of the Philippines from that year. Early Spanish settlers to the Philippines were mostly explorers, soldiers, government officials, religious missionaries, and among others, who were born in Spain or in Mexico called "Peninsulares" (Spanish migrants living in the colony). Their succeeding generation known as "Criollos" (Spaniards of pure White blood, born and raised in the colony) contributed to the population's development. For centuries several hundreds of White Spaniards settled in the islands along with their families to start a new beginning in the New World, to take advantage of the rich and exotic resources the colony had to offer. Some of these individuals married or inter-bred with the indigenous Filipino population while most married only other Spaniards. Their descendance that consisted of "Criollos" or "Insulares" and "Mestizos" (those of mixed-blood individuals) became part of the island's indigenous society; some became town officers and farmers, and others became ordinary citizens. Government officials and those of high ranks were granted with
hacienda A ''hacienda'' ( or ; or ) is an estate (or '' finca''), similar to a Roman '' latifundium'', in Spain and the former Spanish Empire. With origins in Andalusia, ''haciendas'' were variously plantations (perhaps including animals or orchards ...
s (plantation estates) by the Spanish government. In some provinces like,
Vigan Vigan, officially the City of Vigan (; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city and capital of the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Ilocos Sur, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a populatio ...
,
Iloilo Iloilo ( ; ), officially the Province of Iloilo (; ; ; ), is a province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital and largest city is Iloilo City, the regional center of Western Visayas and politically independen ...
,
Cebu Cebu ( ; ), officially the Province of Cebu (; ), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 surrounding islands and islets. The coastal zone of Cebu is identified as a ...
,
Pampanga Pampanga, officially the Province of Pampanga (; ; ), is a province in Central Luzon in the Philippines. Lying on the northern shore of Manila Bay, Pampanga is bordered by Tarlac to the north, Nueva Ecija to the northeast, Bulacan to the east, ...
, and Zamboanga, The Spanish government encouraged foreign merchants from Southeast Asia and the Asian continent to trade in the colony, along with the European and indigenous population, but they were not given certain privileges such as ownership of land. Contacts with White Europeans, social intercourse between foreign merchants, and indigenous people resulted in a new ethnic group. These group were called Mestizos (mixed-race individuals), who were born from intermarriages from White European Spaniards and indigenous Austronesian-speaking Filipino natives. Some of their descendants emerged later as an influential part of the ruling class called the "
Principalía The ''principalía'' or Nobility, noble class was the ruling and usually educated upper class in the ''Municipality, pueblos'' of History of the Philippines (1521–1898), Spanish Philippines, comprising the ''gobernadorcillo'' (later called t ...
" (Nobility) class. The Spanish implemented incentives to deliberately entangle the various races together in order to stop rebellions. According to a historical colonial conversation that was published, stated by a government official explains: ''"It is needful to encourage public instruction in all ways possible, permit newspapers subject to a liberal censure, to establish in Manila a college of medicine, surgery, and pharmacy: in order to break down the barriers that divide the races, and amalgamate them all into one. For that purpose, the Spaniards of the country, the Chinese mestizos, and the Filipinos shall be admitted with perfect equality as cadets of the military corps; the personal-service tax shall be abolished, or an equal and general tax shall be imposed, to which all the Spaniards shall be subject. This last plan appears to me more advisable, as the poll-tax is already established, and it is not opportune to make a trial of new taxes when it is a question of allowing the country to be governed by itself. Since the annual tribute is unequal, the average shall be taken and shall be fixed, consequently, at fifteen or sixteen reals per whole tribute, or perhaps one peso fuerte annually from each adult tributary person. This regulation will produce an increase in the revenue of 200,000 or 300,000 pesos fuertes, and this sum shall be set aside to give the impulse for the amalgamation of the races, favoring crossed marriages by means of dowries granted to the single women in the following manner. To a Chinese mestizo woman who marries a Filipino shall be given 100 pesos; to a Filipino woman who marries a Chinese mestizo, 100 pesos; to a Chinese mestizo woman who marries a Spaniard, 1,000 pesos; to a Spanish woman who marries a Chinese mestizo, 2,000 pesos; to a Filipino woman who marries a Spaniard, 2,000 pesos; to a Spanish woman who marries a Filipino chief, 3,000 or 4,000 pesos. Some mestizo and Filipino alcaldes-mayor of the provinces shall be appointed. It shall be ordered that when a Filipino chief goes to the house of a Spaniard, he shall seat himself as the latter's equal. In a word, by these and other means, the idea that they and the Castilians are two kinds of distinct races shall be erased from the minds of the natives, and the families shall become related by marriage in such manner that when free of the Castilian dominion should any exalted Filipinos try to expel or enslave our race, they would find it so interlaced with their own that their plan would be practically impossible".'' Mexicans, Indigenous Americans and some Black Africans were also brought to the Philippines by the Portuguese traders, to work on plantation settlements as slave workers or settlers working in the colony. Between 1565 and 1815, both Filipinos and people from Latin America and Spain sailed to, and from the Philippines in the
Manila galleon The Manila galleon (; ) refers to the Spain, Spanish trading Sailing ship, ships that linked the Philippines in the Spanish East Indies to Mexico (New Spain), across the Pacific Ocean. The ships made one or two round-trip voyages per year betwe ...
trade to
Acapulco Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , ; ), is a city and Port of Acapulco, major seaport in the Political divisions of Mexico, state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Located on a deep, semicirc ...
, assisting Spain in its trade on the colony.


Population


Colonial statistics

In the late 1700s to early 1800s, Joaquín Martínez de Zúñiga, an Agustinian Friar, in his Two Volume Book: "Estadismo de las islas Filipinas" compiled a census of the Spanish-Philippines based on the tribute counts (Which represented an average family of seven to ten children and two parents, per tribute) and came upon the following statistics: The Spanish-Filipino population as a proportion of the provinces widely varied; with as high as 19% of the population of Tondo province (The most populous province and former name of Manila), to Pampanga 13.7%, Cavite at 13%, Laguna 2.28%, Batangas 3%, Bulacan 10.79%, Bataan 16.72%, Ilocos 1.38%, Pangasinan 3.49%, Albay 1.16%, Cebu 2.17%, Samar 3.27%, Iloilo 1%, Capiz 1%, Bicol 20%, and Zamboanga 40%. According to the 1893 data in the Archdiocese of Manila which administers much of Luzon under it, about 10% of the population was then Spanish-Filipino. Overall the whole Philippines, even including the provinces with no Spanish settlement, as summed up, the average percentage of Spanish Filipino tributes amount to 5% of the total population.


Anthropology

A 2018-2020 Census research data shows that it may be incomplete as there was a large span of time ever since racial statistics were recorded in Spanish censuses and the new Philippine censuses does not account for racial differences, thereby ignoring foreign ancestry that has been
compounding In the field of pharmacy, compounding (performed in compounding pharmacies) is preparation of custom medications to fit unique needs of patients that cannot be met with mass-produced formulations. This may be done, for example, to provide medic ...
in time. To address this, scientists have undergone Anthropology studies of Filipinos to measure ethnic ratios in the population. Scientist, Matthew C. Go, in a Trihybrid Ancestry Variation Analysis approach to Admixture in Filipinos, published a study wherein it was discovered that upon exhuming the remains around the public cemetery of the "Manila North Cemetery" as well as other public cemeteries across the Philippines, and practicing forensic anthropology on them, Matthew C. Go estimated that 71% of the mean amount, among the samples exhumed, have attribution to Asian descent while 7% is attributable to European descent. Filipinos have significantly less Asian ancestry compared to other Asian nationalities like the Koreans who are 90% Asian, Japanese at 96%, Thai at 93%, and Vietnamese at 84%. Nevertheless, a 2019 Anthropology Study by Beatrix Dudzik, while using skeletons collated by the
University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; ) is a Higher education in the Philippines#State universities and colleges, state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by List of Philippine laws, Re ...
and sampled from all across the Philippines, thus published in the Journal of Human Biology, using physical anthropology, estimated that, 72.7% of Filipinos are Asian, 12.7% of Filipinos can be classified as Hispanic, 7.3% as Indigenous American, African at 4.5% and European at 2.7%.An Inter-University Study published in the Journal of Forensic Anthropology concluded that the bodies curated by the University of the Philippines, representing the country, showed the percentage of the population that's phenotypically classified as Hispanic is 12.7%, while that of Indigenous American is 7.3%. Thus totaling to 20% of the sample representative of the Philippines, are Latino in physical appearance. However, this is only according to an interpretation of the data wherein the reference groups, which were attributed to the Filipino samples; for the Hispanic category, were Mexican-Americans, and the reference groups for the European, African, and Indigenous American, categories, were:
White Americans White Americans (sometimes also called Caucasian Americans) are Americans who identify as white people. In a more official sense, the United States Census Bureau, which collects demographic data on Americans, defines "white" as " person hav ...
,
Black Americans African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, and Native Americans from the USA, while the Asian reference groups were sourced from Chinese, Japanese, and Vietnamese origins. In contrast, a different anthropology study using Morphoscopic ancestry estimates in Filipino crania using multivariate probit regression models by J. T. Hefner, published on year 2020, while analyzing Historic and Modern samples of skeletons in the Philippines, paint a different picture, in that, when the reference group for "Asian" was Thailand (Southeast Asians) rather than Chinese, Japanese, and Vietnamese; and the reference group for "Hispanic" were Colombians (South Americans) rather than Mexicans, the combined historical and modern sample results for Filipinos, yielded the following ratios: Asian at 48.6%, African at 32.9%, and only a small portion classifying as either European at 12.9%, and finally for Hispanic at 5.7%.


Historical terms

These are historical Spanish termsused to identify the different types of names given to the people living in the colony. They are: * " Español" - A pure White European person from Spain. * "
Peninsulares In the context of the Spanish Empire, a ''peninsular'' (, pl. ''peninsulares'') was a Spaniard born in Spain residing in the New World, Spanish East Indies, or Spanish Guinea. In the context of the Portuguese Empire, ''reinóis'' (singular ''r ...
" - A pure White Spaniard born in Spain but is also a settler and a citizen, living on the islands. * "
Criollo Criollo or criolla (Spanish for creole) may refer to: People * Criollo people, a social class in the Spanish colonial system. Animals * Criollo duck, a species of duck native to Central and South America. * Criollo cattle, a group of cattle bre ...
"/"Insulares" - A White Filipino of pure European Spanish ancestry, born and raised as citizens of the islands, or a person of pure White ancestry native to the island, who were descendants from White European settlers. * "
Mestizo ( , ; fem. , literally 'mixed person') is a term primarily used to denote people of mixed European and Indigenous ancestry in the former Spanish Empire. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to people who are culturall ...
"/"
Mulatto ( , ) is a Race (human categorization), racial classification that refers to people of mixed Sub-Saharan African, African and Ethnic groups in Europe, European ancestry only. When speaking or writing about a singular woman in English, the ...
" - A native Filipino or an Indigenous American Indian person of mixed Spanish ancestry, and an African person of mixed Spanish descent. * "
Indio Indio may refer to: Places * Indio, Bovey Tracey, an historic estate in Devon, England * Indio, California, a city in Riverside County, California, United States People with the name * Indio (musician), Canadian musician Gordon Peterson * Índi ...
" - A native Filipino or an Indigenous American Indian person, or an individual belonging to a tribal group, native to the islands. * "
Negrito The term ''Negrito'' (; ) refers to several diverse ethnic groups who inhabit isolated parts of Southeast Asia and the Andaman Islands. Populations often described as Negrito include: the Andamanese peoples (including the Great Andamanese, th ...
"/"
Negro In the English language, the term ''negro'' (or sometimes ''negress'' for a female) is a term historically used to refer to people of Black people, Black African heritage. The term ''negro'' means the color black in Spanish and Portuguese (from ...
" - A indigenous Black Filipino person, and an African person brought to the colony as slaves to work on plantation. * "
Sangley Sangley (English plural: ''Sangleys''; Spanish plural: ''Sangleyes'') and Mestizo de Sangley (Sangley mestizo, ''mestisong Sangley'', ''chino mestizo'' or Chinese mestizo) are archaic terms used in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial ...
" - A word invented and used in the Philippines to denote an individual of Chinese or other East Asian background. * "Islas Filipinas" - The name of the islands. * "Felipinas" - The name given to the islands in 1543 by explorer Ruy López de Villalobos in honor of Prince Felipe II, who later became King of Spain in 1556. This name initially referred to just the islands of
Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has been ...
and
Samar Samar ( ) is the third-largest and seventh-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 1,909,537 as of the 2020 census. It is located in the eastern Visayas, which are in the central Philippines. The island is divided in ...
. It was later on expanded to include the entire archipelago. * " Hispano América" - The Spanish colonies in the
Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...
.


Present-day 21st century Filipinos

This category is about a term used to identify the different types of Filipino ethnic groups living on the islands. They are: * "White Filipino" - People of White European, White American,
White Latin American White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wavele ...
, White Middle Eastern and other White ethnic backgrounds living on the islands. * "Hispanic Filipino" - People of mixed native Filipino and Spanish or Latin American ancestry, or a Spanish-speaking Filipino, Hispanicized Filipino, Peninsular, Criollo, or a person of Hispanic South American descent living on the islands. * "Mestizo Filipino" - A Filipino person of mixed White ancestry. * "Native Filipino" - People of un-mixed or a Filipino person of pure ancestry from the islands. * "Oriental Filipino" - People from another Asian background living on the islands, or a Filipino mixed with other oriental backgrounds, or a person of
South Asian South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...
descent living in the islands. * "Black Filipino" - People of
Black African Black is a racial classification of people, usually a Politics, political and Human skin color, skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid- to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin and ofte ...
, African American and Black Latin American backgrounds, living on the islands, or a Filipino person of mixed Black ancestry. * "Polynesian Filipino" - People of Polynesian backgrounds living on the islands, or a Filipino person of mixed Polynesian ancestry. * "US/Native American Filipino" - A person of White American-native descent, living on the islands.


Religion

The majority of Spaniards, Latin Americans and Hispanic Filipinos are
Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...
, with most adhering to
Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
.


Language

Spanish, Spanish creole (
Chavacano Chavacano or Chabacano () is a group of Spanish-based creole language varieties spoken in the Philippines. The variety spoken in Zamboanga City, located in the southern Philippine island group of Mindanao, has the highest concentration of spea ...
), English, Tagalog and other Indigenous Filipino languages are spoken in their community.


Philippine Spanish

Philippine Spanish Philippine Spanish ( or ) is the variety of standard Spanish spoken in the Philippines, used primarily by Spanish Filipinos. Spanish as spoken in the Philippines contains a number of features that distinguishes it from other varieties of ...
( Spanish: Español Filipino, Castellano Filipino) is a Spanish dialect and variant of the
Spanish language Spanish () or Castilian () is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. Today, it is a world language, gl ...
spoken in the Philippines. Philippine Spanish is very similar to
Mexican Spanish Mexican Spanish () is the variety of dialects and sociolects of the Spanish language spoken in Mexico and its bordering regions. Mexico has the largest number of Spanish speakers, more than double any other country in the world. Spanish is spo ...
due to the contribution of grammar and vocabulary spoken by Mexican settlers in the country, during the Galleon trade. A constitution ratified in 1987 designated Filipino and English as official languages.Article XIV, Section 3 of th
1935 Philippine Constitution
provided, " ..Until otherwise provided by law, English and Spanish shall continue as official languages." Th
1943 Philippine Constitution
(in effect during occupation by Japanese forces, and later repudiated) did not specify official languages. Article XV, Section 3(3) of th

ratified on January 17, 1973 specified, "Until otherwise provided by law, English and Pilipino shall be the official languages

dated March 15, 1973 ordered, " ..that the Spanish language shall continue to be recognized as an official language in the Philippines while important documents in government files are in the Spanish language and not translated into either English or Pilipino language." Article XIV Section 7 of th
1987 Philippine Constitution
specified, "For purposes of communication and instruction, the official languages of the Philippines are Filipino and, until otherwise provided by law, English."
Also, under this Constitution, Spanish, together with Arabic, was designated an optional and voluntary language.Article XIV, Sec 7: For purposes of communication and instruction, the official languages of the Philippines are Filipino and, until otherwise provided by law, English. The regional languages are the auxiliary official languages in the regions and shall serve as auxiliary media of instruction therein. Spanish and Arabic shall be promoted on a voluntary and optional basis. Spanish is now spoken mostly by Hispanic Filipinos, educated Filipinos and Filipinos who chose to speak the language. Most Spanish Filipinos speak Spanish as their first, second or third language as they have shifted to communicating in English and Tagalog and/or other Indigenous Filipino languages in the public sphere.


Economy

, the Philippines was among the poorest and most corrupt countries in the world. Support from wealthy Hispanic and Chinese communities in the country has played an important part of helping shape both the economy and traditional identity of the people. The most successful Hispanic individuals are found in the upper-class society, most of whom are highly educated and are involved in business and economic sectors. They support and contribute to some of the Philippines's most important investments in infrastructures such as telecommunication, technology, electricity, water, transport, banking, land economy, tourism, sport and entertainment, shipping trade and marketing.


Legacy and political controversy


Public communication in the Philippines

In 1899, the
First Philippine Republic The Philippine Republic (), now officially remembered as the First Philippine Republic and also referred to by historians as the Malolos Republic, was a state established in Malolos, Bulacan, during the Philippine Revolution against the Spanish ...
promulgated a constitution that designated Spanish as the nation's official language. The Philippines was the only Spanish speaking country in Asia, from the beginning of colonial rule in the 1500s until the first half of the 20th century. It held official status for over four centuries and was redesignated as an optional language in 1987. The
Philippine government The government of the Philippines () has three interdependent branches: the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The Philippines is governed as a unitary state under a presidential representative and democratic constitutional repub ...
under the leadership of
Corazon Aquino María Corazón "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (; January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was a Filipino politician who served as the 11th president of the Philippines and the first woman president in the country, from Presidency of Corazon ...
,deliberately suspended the use of Spanish language for some unknown politicalreasons, likely influenced and a victim of the American Black Legend. Discourteous and hypocritical Filipino politicians influenced by third world Southeast Asian corruption, political agendas, a failed government and economic system, extreme poverty and years of bleak uncertain future that still surrounds the Philippines to this day, led to the
People Power Revolution The People Power Revolution, also known as the EDSA Revolution or the February Revolution, were a series of popular Demonstration (people), demonstrations in the Philippines, mostly in Metro Manila, from February 22 to 25, 1986. There was a ...
in 1986. The government
Constitution of the Philippines The Constitution of the Philippines (Filipino language, Filipino: ''Saligang Batas ng Pilipinas'' or ''Konstitusyon ng Pilipinas'') is the Constitution, supreme law of the Philippines. Its final draft was completed by the Philippine Constitution ...
without conducting a proper western-style election protocol, was controversially changed in 1987. This disrupted the development of the language, which led the Philippines to be an incomplete Spanish-speaking country. Tagalog and English remained as the official languages of the country as they have been in previous constitution. In 1987, the Tagalog language which was called Filipino was promoted as the main language, a language that was chosen by the former Philippine president
Manuel L. Quezon Manuel Luis Quezon y Molina (, , , ; 19 August 1878 – 1 August 1944), also known by his initials MLQ, was a Filipino people, Filipino lawyer, statesman, soldier, and politician who was president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines from 1 ...
in 1935, who himself was of mixed Spanish ancestry. Spanish still remains and continues to be spoken by educated Filipinos, Spanish Filipinos and native Filipinos who chose to speak the language in public. However, it is mostly spoken and used in universities and in Hispanic communities. The Philippines is a member of the Latin Union where the language is used for education in the
Instituto Cervantes Instituto Cervantes (, the Cervantes Institute) is a worldwide nonprofit organization created by the Spanish government in 1991. It is named after Miguel de Cervantes (1547–1616), the author of ''Don Quixote'' and perhaps the most important fi ...
, in the capital city of Manila. In 2010, the former Philippine president Gloria Arroyo, a fluent Spanish speaker, re-instated the language as a compulsory subject to be taught in schools and universities. One of the reasons of change was that she wanted to the Philippines to return to traditional ways of life, be bilingual, competitive, wealthy and respected, and able to compete in the world economy. The other was for global employment demands such as in the
call center A call centre (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth spelling) or call center (American English, American spelling; American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, see spelling differences) is a managed capability th ...
and business process outsourcing industries. Most Spanish-speaking Filipinos also use English in the public sphere and may also speak Tagalog and other Philippine languages. In addition,
Chavacano Chavacano or Chabacano () is a group of Spanish-based creole language varieties spoken in the Philippines. The variety spoken in Zamboanga City, located in the southern Philippine island group of Mindanao, has the highest concentration of spea ...
(a creole language based largely in the Spanish vocabulary) is spoken in the southern Philippines and forms the majority of Zamboanga Peninsula and
Basilan Basilan, officially the Province of Basilan (; ; ; ), is an island province of the Philippines located primarily in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region. Basilan Island is the largest and northernmost of the major islands of the Sulu Archipelago ...
region.


Culture

Hispanic Filipinos share some similarities to cultural practices from people in Latin America and Spain, including a shared history, tradition, names, arts and literature, music, food, religion and language. They have also taken some influences from the United States, as evidenced by their admiration for Anglo-American
Popular culture Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of cultural practice, practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art
f. pop art F is the sixth letter of the Latin alphabet. F may also refer to: Science and technology Mathematics * F or f, the number 15 (number), 15 in hexadecimal and higher positional systems * ''p'F'q'', the hypergeometric function * F-distributi ...
or mass art, sometimes contraste ...
. The National Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated in the United States by individuals of Spanish Heritage. While in Spain, the Running of the Bulls is a traditional celebration.


Literature


"Literatura Filipina en Español"

Philippine literature in Spanish ("Literatura Filipina en Español") is a body of original Hispanic literature made by Filipino writers in the
Spanish language Spanish () or Castilian () is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. Today, it is a world language, gl ...
which was first published in 1593 by Spanish Roman Catholic priest. Today, this corpus is the third largest in the whole corpus of Philippine literature ( Philippine literature in Filipino being the first, followed by Philippine literature in English). It is slightly larger than Philippine literature in vernacular languages. However, because of the very few additions to it in the past 30 years, it is expected that the latter will soon overtake its rank. The most popular written Hispanic literature in the Philippines is " Noli Me Tángere," a novel written by
José Rizal José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda (, ; June 19, 1861 – December 30, 1896) was a Filipino nationalist, writer and polymath active at the end of the Spanish colonial period of the Philippines. He is popularly considered a na ...
.


Art

Hispanic art explores the rich history and story of the ancient world, combined with colonialism, religion and contemporary way of life.


Music and cinema

Hispanic music is a blend of traditional European
folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...
mixed with Indigenous American-Indian, Indigenous Filipino and African sounds, together with contemporary European, Latin and Anglo-American genre. Films, hip-hop, pop, dance, rock and heavy metal are also popular.


Cuisine

Spanish cuisine is traditionally of European origin. Filipino cuisine is a blend of European and Asian influences.


Sport

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
is the most watched and played sport in Spain and in Latin America. In the Philippines football is also popular particularly among the Hispanic communities and fans of the sport.
Tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...
,
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
,
beach volleyball Beach volleyball is a team sport played by two teams of two to four players each on a sand court divided by a net. Similar to indoor volleyball, the objective of the game is to send the ball over the net and to ground it on the opponent's side o ...
,
volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...
,
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
,
boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...
, UFC,
cycling Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...
,
motor sports Motorsport or motor sport are sporting events, competitions and related activities that primarily involve the use of automobiles, motorcycles, motorboats and powered aircraft. For each of these vehicle types, the more specific terms ''automobile ...
and
water sports Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms ...
are also widely appreciated in the Spanish community. The game of basketball is one of Spain's most popular sports and is second only to football, played at a professional level, while in the Philippines it is considered its national sport. Traditional and cultural sports such as
bullfighting Bullfighting is a physical contest that involves a bullfighter attempting to subdue, immobilize, or kill a bull, usually according to a set of rules, guidelines, or cultural expectations. There are several variations, including some forms wh ...
were popular among Spaniards and in Latin America in the early 1900s, but have recently declined in popularity in the 2000s due to the violent nature of the sport.


Notable people

A list of famous Hispanics from around the world who are part Filipino heritage, known for their status and achievements.


International

Sport * Paulino Alcántara - Football * Eduardo Teus - Football * Juan Torena - Football * Manuel Amechazurra - Football * Gregorio Querejeta - Football * Nick Rimando - Football * Saúl Berjón - Football * Leylah Fernandez - Tennis Music *
Enrique Iglesias Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler (; born 8 May 1975) is a Spanish singer and songwriter. He started his recording career in the mid-1990s on the Mexican label Fonovisa where he released three Spanish albums ''Enrique Iglesias (album), Enrique ...
- Singer *
Bruno Mars Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), known professionally as Bruno Mars, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is known for his three-octave tenor vocal range, live performances, R ...
- Singer * Joe Bataan - Singer * Julio Iglesias Jr. - Singer and model * Asia Nitollano - Singer *
Cassie Ventura Casandra Elizabeth Ventura (born August 26, 1986), known mononymously as Cassie, is an American singer, dancer, actress, and model. Born in New London, Connecticut, she began her musical career after meeting producer Ryan Leslie in late 2004, ...
- Singer * Jasmine V - Singer Films * Neile Adams - Actress * Steven R. McQueen - Actor Fashion * Arianny Celeste - Model Literature * Juan Johnny Rico - Novel and film character *
George Santayana George Santayana (born Jorge Agustín Nicolás Ruiz de Santayana y Borrás, December 16, 1863 – September 26, 1952) was a Spanish-American philosopher, essayist, poet, and novelist. Born in Spain, Santayana was raised and educated in the Un ...
- Writer and philosopher Journalism * Isabel Preysler - Journalist, socialite and television presenter Aristocracy * Tamara Falcó - Aristocrat and television personality Politics * Marcelo Azcárraga - Prime minister * Juan Álvarez - President * Isidoro Montes de Oca - Revolutionary leader *
Alejandro Gómez Maganda Alejandro Gómez Maganda (March 3, 1910 – September 14, 1984) was a Mexican politician affiliated with the Institutional Revolutionary Party The Institutional Revolutionary Party (, , PRI) is a List of political parties in Mexico, polit ...
- Governor *
Jorge Moragas Jorge Moragas Sánchez (born 21 June 1965) is the former Chief of Staff of the Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy. Spanish politician and diplomat, who last served as the Ambassador of Spain to the Philippines from 2020 to 2022. Married and f ...
- Chief of Staff of the Spanish Prime Minister


Philippines

Economics * Jaime Augusto Zóbel de Ayala - Businessman * Zóbel de Ayala family - Business family * Enrique K. Razon - Businessman * Andrés Soriano - Businessman * Ramón Aboitiz - Businessman Sport * Carlos Loyzaga - Basketballer * Santiago Rublico - Footballer Films * Gloria Romero - Actress * Delia Razon - Actress * Amalia Fuentes - Actress *
Marian Rivera Marian Rivera Gràcia-Dantes (; born 12 August 1984) is a Filipinos, Filipino actress, television host, model and entrepreneur. She is known for her portrayals of Hero, heroines and roles in Romance film, romantic dramas. Her accolades includ ...
- Actress * Fernando Poe Jr. - Actor *
Eddie Garcia Eduardo "Eddie" Verchez Garcia (; May 2, 1929 – June 21, 2019), colloquially known as Manoy, was a Filipino actor, television personality, and filmmaker. Widely regarded as the greatest Filipino actor of all time, Garcia appeared in nearly ...
- Actor * Jaime Fabregas - Actor * Janine Gutiérrez - Actress and model Music * Chanty - Singer and actress * Pilita Corrales - Singer Art *
Juan Luna Juan Luna de San Pedro y Novicio (, ; October 25, 1857 – December 7, 1899) was a Filipino painter, sculptor and a political activism, activist of the Philippine Revolution during the late 19th century. He became one of the first recog ...
- Artist Fashion * Celeste Cortesi - Beauty pageant * Ahtisa Manalo - Beauty pageant * Katarina Rodríguez - Beauty pageant * Stella Araneta - Beauty pageant * Gloria Díaz - Beauty pageant Literature * Fernando María Guerrero - Writer * Lourdes Castrillo Brillantes - Writer Journalism * Dyan Castillejo - Journalist Religion * José María of Manila - Roman Catholic Saint * Juan de Plasencia - Priest * Manuel Rojo del Río y Vieyra - Priest Politics *
José Rizal José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda (, ; June 19, 1861 – December 30, 1896) was a Filipino nationalist, writer and polymath active at the end of the Spanish colonial period of the Philippines. He is popularly considered a na ...
- Nationalist, writer and polymath *
Emilio Aguinaldo Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy (: March 22, 1869February 6, 1964) was a Filipino revolutionary, statesman, and military leader who became the first List of presidents of the Philippines, president of the Philippines (1899–1901), and the first pre ...
- President and revolutionary leader *
Felipe Calderón Felipe de Jesús Calderón Hinojosa (; born 18 August 1962) is a Mexican politician and lawyer who served as the 63rd president of Mexico from 2006 to 2012 and Secretary of Energy during the presidency of Vicente Fox between 2003 and 2004. ...
- Revolutionary leader *
Antonio Luna Antonio Narciso Luna de San Pedro y Novicio Ancheta (; October 29, 1866 – June 5, 1899) was a Filipinos, Filipino army general and a pharmacist who fought in the Philippine–American War before his assassination on June 5, 1899, at the age ...
- Revolutionary leader *
Ilustrados The Ilustrados (, "erudite", "learned" or "enlightened ones") constituted the Filipino people, Filipino intelligentsia (Education in the Philippines, educated class) during the History of the Philippines (1521–1898), Spanish colonial period i ...
- Educated class * Chito Gascon - Commission on Human Rights * Gloria Arroyo - President *
Manuel L. Quezon Manuel Luis Quezon y Molina (, , , ; 19 August 1878 – 1 August 1944), also known by his initials MLQ, was a Filipino people, Filipino lawyer, statesman, soldier, and politician who was president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines from 1 ...
- President * Marcelo Fernán - Chief Justice and President of the Senate


See also

* Philippines–Spain relations * Spanish people of Filipino ancestry * Mexican settlement in the Philippines * Filipino immigration to Mexico


Notes


References


Sources

* The Conquest of Paradise: Christopher Columbus and the Columbian Legacy, Kirkpatrick Sale (1990–1991) * Conquistadors: The Rise and Fall (Documentary Series, 2023) * Antonio García, Spanish Settlers in the Philippines 1571–1599, Universidad de Córdoba España, www.uco.es * Francisco de Sande, Juan de Ovando, "Spanish Settlers in the Philippines (1571-1599)," President of the Council to the Indies New Spain, 1574


External links


Ethnicity in the Philippines (2020) Census of Population and Housing
Republic of the Philippines - Philippine Statistic Authority, www.psa.gov.ph
Filipino Migration in Spain (Province of Origin)
Office of the President of the Philippines, www.cfo.gov.ph
Filipino Migration in Spain (Overview)
Office of the President of the Philippines, www.cfo.gov.ph
Spanish Settlers in the Philippines (1571-1599)
Universidad de Córdoba España, www.uco.es
The genetic legacy of the Manila Galleon Trade in Mexico
The Royal Society Publishing, www.royalsocietypublishing.org
Ethnohistory - Philippine Indios in the Service of the Empire: Indigenous Soldiers and Contingent Loyalty, 1600-1700
University of Cambridge United Kingdom, www.api.repository.cam.ac.uk {{Smaller ethnic groups in the Philippines Ethnic groups in the Philippines Hispanic and Latino European diaspora in the Philippines Latin American diasporas South American diaspora in the Philippines Filipino Spanish Philippines